This study investigates the comparative hepatoprotective activity of crude ethanol extracts of Cuscuta australis against acetaminophen (APAP) intoxication. Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into six groups of 6 replicates: Group 1 which served as control received water. Group 2 was orally administered 835 mg/kg body wt. of paracetamol on day 8. Groups 3 and 4 were orally administered ethano...

Using controlled experiments, the ability of the trematode parasite Stegodexamene anguillae, encysted within its intermediate fish host, the common bully Gobiomorphus cotidianus, was tested to indirectly detect the presence of its definitive host by exposing infected G. cotidianus to chemical cues from the definitive host, the short-finned eel Anguilla australis. The trematode can abbreviate it...

A distinct, non-native haplotype of the common reed Phragmites australis has become invasive in Atlantic coastal Spartina marshes. We compared the salt tolerance and other growth characteristics of the invasive M haplotype with 2 native haplotypes (F and AC) in greenhouse experiments. The M haplotype retained 50% of its growth potential up to 0.4 M NaCl, whereas the F and AC haplotypes did not ...

Alstroemeria L., one of the most diverse genera of the Chilean flora and of high floricultural value, is represented by 35 species, most of them distributed between 28-38° S in the Mediterranean zone of Central Chile. There are 24 complex-forming taxa, of which 18 have conservation problems (8 are considered "endangered" and 10 as "vulnerable"). One of these complexes is Alstroemeria presliana ...

As plants have been shown to accumulate organic compounds from contaminated sediments, there is a potential for long-lasting ecological impact as a result of contaminant accumulation in riparian areas of wetlands, particularly the accumulation of non-biodegradable contaminants such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). In this study, commonly found riparian wetland plants including reeds, i.e., Xan...

Studies have indicated that consistent or well-constrained (relatively low variability) carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) ratios exist in large-scale ecosystems, including both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Little is known about the C, N and P stoichiometric ratios that exist in the soils and plants of Chenier Island in the Yellow River Delta (YRD). We examined the distribution patterns a...

Five tropical seaweeds, Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty ex P.C. Silva, Padina australis Hauck, Sargassum binderi Sonder ex J. Agardh (syn. S. aquifolium (Turner) C. Agardh), Sargassum siliquosum J. Agardh and Turbinaria conoides (J. Agardh) Kützing, were incubated in seawater of pH 8.0, 7.8 (ambient), 7.6, 7.4 and 7.2, to study the effects of changing seawater pH on halocarbon emissions. Eigh...

The Pediacus Shuckard fauna of Asia and Australasia is revised. Eighteen species are recorded, described and illustrated from the regions and a key to species is provided. Nine new species are described: Pediacus australis sp. nov. (Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand), P. carinatus sp. nov. (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand), P. fujianensis sp. nov. (China), P. japonicoides sp. nov...

AT PRESENT five species are known in the genus Rb odopeltis, which belongs to the red algal order, Cryptonemiales. Of these, Rbodopeltis anstralis was first found in Australia, and the other four species, R. borealis, R. setchelliae, R. liagoroides, and R. gracilis all grow in the southern islands of Japan and were described by Yamada. The first description of a species of the genus Rh odopelti...

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity developed against the major infected target cells of rickettsial infections, endothelial cells and macrophages. Spleen cells from mice immune to Rickettsia conorii exerted specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-matched CTL activity against R. conorii-infected SVEC-10 endothelial cells, with peak activity on day 10. Similarly, spleen cells f...